Print in Pink

I can't believe how fast the first month of 2015 has passed. Where did that whole month go? But aha! While that means the depth of winter for those of you in New York (I heard about the blizzard, bundle up, everyone!), or the height of  the summer haze for those in the land down under, for me it means my favourite time of the year is almost upon us. Oh yes, I said it. I like February way more than I do Christmas. 

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet - February heralds the approaching of the Chinese New Year fesitivities. At this point I could write an essay about what goes on during the celebrations, but here's the tl;dr: We go on shopping sprees for a new wardrobe, because it's good luck to welcome the New Year with NEW ERRTHANG. We wear said new wardrobe to visit relatives and friends where we feast on traditional cookies, cakes, bak kwa, yusheng, hotpot and a truckload of other good food. Relatives give you red pockets with money in them. An all encompassing excuse to shop, pocket money, good food and good company. Who could want for more? 

In the spirit that you should wear a little colour during Chinese New Year, here's a post with a blush-toned palette at Melbourne's iconic Brighton Beach, to take a break from my favourite black and whites. I couldn't leave without doing a shoot here, of course. This gingham skirt sat in my ASOS 'saved items' page for a really, really  long time till one day the discount god bestowed a 70% blessing upon us for two days. What can I say - this skirt and the beach took to each other like they were always meant to be, and had this gorgeous baby of a shoot. 

The sun was abysmally bright, making it a pain in the tush to shoot anything at all, and I felt like I was being microwaved alive, but even I long for the burning heat and cool waters as I put my nose to the daily grind. 

 

SHOP MY CLOSET

ASOS Gingham Pink Midi | ZARA TRF crop top 

Lovisa necklace | Charles & Keith loafers similar here

Photography by Lily Chen 

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R 

Juxtaposition

For this post, I'm easing back into it with a trip back to my comfort zone - monochrome en masse. Well not really in comfort, because on the contrary apparently typing is all I need to do in this weather to work up a line of sweat beads along my hairline. I'm also going to be starting an internship soon, so let me revel one last time in the pleasure of cropped, midriff- baring tops, asymmetric hems, chunky boots and my hair all loose in the wind before I have to subject myself to the horrors of more conservative office wear. -shudder- 

I had planned for this skirt to be shot at a later date after I had gotten rid of that food baby (hahaha I'm heading back to Singapore, who am I kidding?), but seeing as I would be photographer-less in two weeks, there was no way around it. On the flipside, this serves as motivation for myself to get back in shape, and for the bulges of that food baby to grace the face of social media no longer than this one post.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I spent the last two weeks in Australia staying with Lily in her house in the suburbs. She was very kind to put me up as I waited for graduation. I can safely say that two weeks later I officially developed suburbititis. It was a sight to behold, for suburbia certainly becomes me. While I did work out occasionally, there wasn't much to do except go to Coles. Days were spent lounging in my pajamas, watching reruns of an old korean drama and treating my mouth like a black hole. The difference being that we don't know where things go when they disappear into black holes - that packet of lemon crisps, however, I can definitely see where that went. 

 

SHOP MY CLOSET

Striped asymmetrical skirt similar here | H&M mesh crop top | Cut out boots similar here

Minimalist triangle necklace | Wet n' Wild nail polish Haze of Love | New Look cross body bag

Photography by Lily Chen

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R 

Into The Unknown

As the new year celebrations sweep the different time zones, I've been doing some celebrating and reflecting of my own on the past year. So here's the first blogpost of the year with my two cents worth and some photos from my graduation!

Much of 2014 was spent as a recluse, furiously scribbling away on a notepad and typing out essays and reports for my final year in uni, emerging only for the promise of food that never fails to lure me out of my little self-created hellhole.

But that aside, 2014 has been pretty pivotal. Despite me still not being able to curb my ASOS tendencies, I've survived the fashion and beauty year, having successfully conquered my fear of pants and midi skirts, found my godsend hair curler, won over a thousand dollars of YSL products, started worshipping the aeropress, stopped having my coffee with milk, become an Aesop convert and gone down the slippery slope of being a blush junkie in the making. All that and I've emerged with a degree in procrastination to boot. My family and friends have all played an irreplaceable part in my journey, and I would I am today without you. Thank you, a thousand times over.

And this blogpost to round up the year would not be complete without a paragraph as tribute to Lily, my friend, without whom this blog would just be sad. This little 4'11 package of wonderful has been the most patient photographer, putting up with my nonsense like asking her to take the same photo 20 times, or me bugging her to go on shoots. But more than that, she's literally my spiritual twin - we correctly guess each other's gifts without opening the wrapping and pick out the same items from a store without knowing it. I also don't think I'll find another person who will dress up to the nines in 20's gear for a swing dance party with me, or understand the importance of setting a leaving time - so we can get ready an hour in advance. As we bid adieu to 2014, I also bid a 6-month long goodbye to her as she ventures into the city that never sleeps for exchange (in which I hope my blog will not be as barren as I fear) - please return with 10 servings of Chipotle for me.

Blogging wise - I've always thought the hardest part about maintaining a blog is trying to start posts. Getting my writing engine going is an excruciating hour long affair of staring at a blank screen, typing a sentence, deleting it, and rewriting it. This one was certainly no exception. And in the end, Surprisingly enough, I almost always go back to the sentence with which I first began.

This year was pretty much like writing a blogpost. New Year's Eve saw me lying in bed in my slob clothes and hair in a topknot as I looked on everyone prepping for their parties on Instagram. I came to the small realization that this is me coming full circle. Not sure if it's inspirational or sad that I think lying in bed on New Year's Eve is coming full circle, but I realized that these new year traditions like making resolutions exist only because we put them in place. So here's my resolution for 2015: It doesn't need to be New Year's Day for me to make a resolution. Each day is 24 hours, just like the last, equally fresh and new. So don't wait for the new year. Carpe diem - seize the day, the minute, the second, for every little division of time, no matter how infinitely small, is a chance for me to become a better version of myself.

Happy New Year, everyone, I wish you love and light in 2015.

Photography by Lily Chen. 

UNICORN LOVE, 
- R 

Red Letter Day

You can never go wrong with a bright lip colour to spice up a duller colour palette, is what I learned when I moved to Australia. My terribly overdressed self used to reside in a much more conservative asian country, where a bold red lip would earn me stares and whispers in malls and on streets, so you can understand why I have only just begun to appreciate it's beauty. 

Due to my forever bad planning, I arrived home, absolutely grungy after a sleepover, with just over 40 minutes to take a shower, put my face on, dry my shaggy mane of hair, AND pick out something to wear. (I can hear you scoffing, "ha! I can do that in half the time!" But trust me, when you are as indecisive as I am, that is no small feat.)  So you can imagine my surprise when I turned to this as a last resort and it brought such life to a hastily thrown together outfit. 

Lily and I headed off to an annual vintage charity sale at Como House, South Yarra. It was held in the ballroom of a 19th century mansion with the most beautiful gardens. You should have seen us, practically foaming at the mouth at the sight of such a multitude of photo ops. Which resulted in probably my most photo-heavy post to date. Both Lily and I picked up some gorgeous vintage finds at a fraction of the usual price, which totally made our day. Keep an eye out for them in coming posts! 

Cheap shopping, beautiful setting, good company - I couldn't have asked for more. (Well, not getting lost on the way there and back would have been another plus point, but you get what I mean.)  

SHOP MY CLOSET
Black Shorts with Lace trim similar here | Underground Triple Sole Creepers | White Rock Ring 
White Chiffon Top similar here | Leather Satchel (Lily's) similar here | Skull Collar Pins 
Checked Sweater similar here | Leopard Print Sunnies | Revlon Lipstick #725 Love That Red

Photo Credits to Lily: Check her out here to give her some unicorn lovin'.

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R 

Pastel Hues

I've always been on the fence about spring and summer in Melbourne, despite the glorious array of blooms the gardens have to offer and the cafes advertising gelato and iced coffee. If you haven't read in my previous post already, I'll have you know that I'm probably not the firmest advocate of glaring sun, heat or tanning. I'm that girl, always putting on sunscreen and scurrying into the blessed shade of trees or buildings, where there is any to be had. This is mainly because I have developed enough sweat glands for a whole mens football team, which is not ideal. 

Not entirely sure what the whole point of that paragraph was, besides providing too much information about my sweat gland activity myself. 

January through March saw the peak of the kimono trend - I honestly did not think these bathrobe lookalikes could look flattering at all, but hey, here I am, jumping on the kimono bandwagon. I must say I've been pretty attached to this item of clothing recently - it shields against the burn of the sun, and is heaps of fun to twirl in. 

My most recent adventure into the sun with this piece was to the annual Moomba Festival, held along the banks of the Yarra river. I intended to catch the evening sun, but my inner pig won out and I spent a good amount of time chowing down on a massive hotdog and a cup of hot chips, zealously guarding the latter against the throngs of little children running around. Chasing the last dredges of light, I stumbled upon this little garden  filled with beautiful blooms that matched my kimono to a tee. The delay as a result of my gluttony was actually a blessing in disguise - the warm backlight of dusk is so beautiful.

See, I knew the hotdog and chips were a good idea. 

Cotton On Paisley Print Kimono | Black cami similar here | Round Leopard print Sunnies here and here 

Zara black shorts | Steve Madden Blunna Bag | Patent Leather Creepers similar here and here

Lovisa necklace similar(ish) here and here

Photo credits: Lily ! C'mon. Go on. Show this girl some unicorn lovin'. 

UNICORN LOVE, 

- R